SEVEN = thought, consciousness, probability, luck/unlucky, chance, wisdom, consequence, understanding, attainment, mysticism, wonder, spiritual perfection, virginity, untouchable, unknowable, indivisible, indefinable, mysterious
- also known as hep-/hepta-/heptad (from Greek) septua-/septet (from Latin)
- associated with labyrinths and heptagons, the only shape that cannot be completed with complete accuracy with geometer's tools (ie. 360 degrees are not divisible by 7)
- seven is the atomic number of nitrogen
- on a computer keyboard, Shift+7 gives you an ampersand (&)
- on telephone keypads, the "7" key is associated with the letters P, Q, R and S
- Roman numeral is VII
- in Greek mythology, seven represented Apollo, and the Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlas (Alcyone, Celaeno, Electra, Maia, Merope, Sterope, Taygete)
- the Greek alphabet has seven vowels: alpha, epsilon, eta, iota, omicron, upsilon, omega
- since antiquity, seven has been regarded as holy
- Rome has many connections to 7:
- seven emperors of Rome were Julius Caesar, Augustus, Galba, Hadrian, Nerva, Sallust, Vespasian
- seven hills of Rome are Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, Viminal (there are 51 cities that claim to be build on 7 hills - full list here)
- In the 5th century AD, Martianus Capella defined the seven Liberal Arts as: grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music
- Pythagoras viewed seven as "perfect" because it was 3+4, a triangle + a square; a triangle placed upon a square is common in Greek architecture (square representing reality and triangle being an arrow to the heavens)
- in type design, 7 sometimes has a horizontal dash through the centre to distinguish it from 1
- in astrology, the seventh sign of the Zodiac is Libra, the Scales (September 23 - October 23)
- septuplets are seven offspring in the same pregnancy
- in astrology, 7 is ruled by Neptune
- 7 ball in billiards is solid maroon
- "on the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree"
- seventh wedding anniversary gift is wool or copper
- 7-Eleven is a chain of convenience stores, famous for the Big Gulp. The company was founded on 07/11/1927, and was originally open from 7am to 11pm.
- 7-Up is a lemon-lime flavoured soft drink, created in 1920
- James Bond's secret agent number is 007
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a 1954 movie musical directed by Stanley Donen (seven brides = Milly, Dorcas, Alice, Sarah, Liza, Ruth, Martha; seven brothers = Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense, Gideon)
- Se7en is a 1995 movie directed by David Fincher
- The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 movie (remake of The Seven Samurai) directed by John Sturges (O'Reilly, Chris, Chico, Britt, Harry Luck, Vin, Lee)
- Seven Year Itch is a 1955 movie directed by Tom Ewell, starring Marilyn Monroe. "Seven year itch" refers to the urge to have an extra-martial affair after seven years of marriage
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a book by Stephen Covey
- Be Proactive
- Begin with the End in Mind
- Put First Things First
- Think Win-Win
- Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the Saw
- in Harry Potter series, seven is said to be the most powerfully magical number. There are a number of references to seven in Harry Potter:
- there are a total of seven books in the series;
- Ginny Weasley is the seventh child and only daughter of the Weasley family;
- Harry Potter was born in July, the seventh month of the year;
- wizarding students must complete seven years of school at Hogwarts;
- there are seven secret passages in Hogwarts;
- seven is the number on the back of Harry Potter's Quidditch robes;
- each Quidditch team consists of seven players;
- Chapter Four of The Deathly Hallows is titled "The Seven Potters";
- Lord Voldemort succeeded in splitting his soul into seven parts
- seven is also prominent in Judeo-Christianity - read more here
- in Judeo-Christian concept of the creation narrative, God created the world in 7 days:
- Day 1 - created light/dark
- Day 2 - created sky (firmament)
- Day 3 - created dry land, seas, flora/plants
- Day 4 - created sun, moon & stars + seasons/years
- Day 5 - created fish and birds
- Day 6 - created land animals and man
- Day 7 - rested
- "sail the Seven Seas" can refer either to a particular set of seven seas (which vary from culture to culture), or to a great expanse of water in general
- there are seven archangels (many versions in different eras/faiths)
- In Buddhism, Buddha walked 7 steps at his birth, and at each step a lotus flower bloomed; also, Buddhists believe there are seven days between death and rebirth
- In some European folklores, the seventh son of a seventh son will be a child with special powers of healing and clairvoyant seeing, and in other cultures that seventh son of a seventh son would be a vampire.
- there are seven stars in the Big Dipper constellation, as well as Orion
- almost all mammals have 7 cervical vertebrae
- each moon phase (first, new, third and full) has 7 days
- Masonic lodges require seven members
- companies/corporations will invoke seven to create brand products that feel new, inspired, or have uncorrupted values
- the American flags has seven red stripes
- many card games have a 7-card hand (ie. poker, go-fish, rummy, etc.)
- in Scrabble, you play with 7 letter tiles
- seven is the sum of opposite digits on a six-sided dice (1+6, 2+5, 3+4)
- "seventh heaven" is a state of great happiness/satisfaction/bliss
- breaking a mirror is said to cause seven years of bad luck
COMMON SEVENs:
- Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria (other Wonders of the Modern World lists here)
- Group of Seven (painters): Charmichael, Harris, Jackson, Johnston, Lismer, MacDonald, Varley
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey
- colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet
- seven objects in the solar system visible to the naked eye from Earth – the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn
- seven days of the week: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- seven continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Antarctica and Australia
- seven chakras: crown, third eye, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral, base/root
- seven musical notes: do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti
- seven vices / deadly sins: pride, envy, sloth, wrath, gluttony, lust and avarice (the root of all evil…)
- seven virtues (Christian): humility, prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice, awe, mercy
- seven ages of Man (from Shakespeare's As You Like It): Infant, Schoolboy, Lover, Soldier, Justice, Pantaloon, Second childishness
And, a seven riddle:
As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?
(Answer: 1!)
